Mexico introduces new rules for self-consumption

Mexico’s energy regulator has issued new provisions to streamline the permitting process for self-consumption power plants between 0.7 MW and 20 MW, aiming to improve legal certainty for project developers.

From pv magazine Mexico

Mexico’s National Commission for Regulatory Improvement (CONAMER) has published a draft agreement outlining the requirements for obtaining a generation permit for interconnected self-consumption at power plants with capacities between 0.7 MW and 20 MW.

The agreement aims to streamline the permitting process and provide legal certainty for individuals and entities developing generation projects under the self-consumption model, in line with the Electricity Sector Law.

Applicants must submit a form authorized by the National Energy Commission (CNE). The form must include the type of technology and primary fuel, generating capacity (AC/DC), estimated annual generation, georeferenced location, backup details for intermittent generators, and identification of self-consumption users through the associated private grid.

The form must also include a general financing plan, the acknowledgment number or final resolution of the social impact authorization, and the results of the applicable impact or rapid impact study. It must be submitted with the application for interconnection of power plants or connection of load centers, as specified in the relevant manual.

Applicants must provide technical and financial documentation, including a simplified single-line diagram of the power plant with the proposed interconnection point, a simplified works program, a business plan (if the plant is not yet installed), financial statements for the past two years, and proof of experience in similar projects.

The agreement will take effect with the entry into force of the regulations under the Electricity Sector Law and the Energy Planning and Transition Law, expected by September 2025. The CNE must register the procedure in the National Registry of Procedures and Services and publish the approved application form on its website and in the Official Gazette of the Federation.